Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told House lawmakers Thursday that the Biden administration is looking for ways to help train Ukrainian forces remotely as Russia continues its all-out assault on its neighboring country, attacking it by land, sea, and air.
Austin also told lawmakers that the U.S. military is looking for ways to get weapons and ammunition to Ukrainian forces fighting the Russian military, which some Western leaders fear is only a few days from pulverizing eastern Ukraine and taking the capital city of Kyiv.
The Biden administration would support Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government as long as it remained “viable,” Austin said, as reported by Axios. The comments prompted concerns about what U.S. involvement would look like if Zelensky left the country or was captured or killed in combat.
If Kyiv falls to Russian forces, Zelensky’s government could be easily toppled, and a regime change would quickly go into effect, with Zelensky likely being replaced by a crony picked by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
LARGE BLASTS HEARD IN KYIV AS RUSSIAN FORCES CONVERGE ON UKRAINIAN CAPITAL
The West and its allies have not shown any inclination to send troops to Ukraine, which is not a member of NATO, amid apprehension of a potential wider war on the continent. But that doesn’t mean the United States isn’t willing to help any way it can.
“This is going to be a long battle that requires a sustained action and unity,” said Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, after a briefing with top Biden officials, including the secretaries of the State, Defense, and Treasury Departments.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she wants to provide Ukraine with $600 million in “lethal defense weapons,” but House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith, a Washington Democrat, told CNN the odds of passing a bill quickly would be unlikely.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said he wants votes on emergency assistance to begin next week.
The Biden administration has already pledged more than $650 million in security assistance since 2021. In December, the U.S. committed to sending $200 million in equipment, though it hasn’t been fully delivered, Axios reported.
Russia unleashed a massive assault on Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday morning in a dramatic takeover attempt that has already seen civilian casualties.
Putin ordered the full-scale invasion within hours of vowing to denazify Ukraine after weeks of fruitless diplomatic attempts by the West.
World leaders condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, describing it as “barbaric,” and slapped sanctions not only on Russia but several of the country’s oligarchs and Putin’s inner circle.
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“Putin chose this war, and now, he and his country will bear the consequences,” President Joe Biden said during a televised news conference Thursday.
